Leaked Audio Reportedly of JD Vance Criticising Musk Goes Viral, Voice Says Elon Making USA Look Bad

• A leaked audio clip, reportedly of JD Vance criticising South African-born Elon Musk, has gone viral on social media
• Then man's voice in the clip can be heard saying how the South African was making the United States look bad
• The man goes on to add that the other person was a South African who was cosplaying a great American leader

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism

WASHINGTON DC – Is Elon Musk rubbing people up the wrong way in the White House?

According to a leaked audio clip, which has gone viral on social media, US Vice President JD Vance is not impressed with the tech billionaire.

In the leaked audio, a voice allegedly belonging to Vance, can be heard criticising the South African-born businessman.

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Voice claims Musk is making USA look bad

In the audio, a man can heard saying that Musk was making the country look bad. While the man doesn’t mention Musk by name, the references point towards the Tesla owner.

“Everything he’s doing, he's getting criticised in the media. And he says that he’s helping, and he's not. He's making us look bad. He's making me look bad” the man can be heard saying.

The audio continues with the man claiming that Musk wasn’t even an American but was a South African cosplaying as a great American leader.

"He has the audacity to act like he is an elected official. I am an elected official. I am the important one in this situation, not him. So, if he wants to tank the economy and his cars, maybe that's what he deserves,” the audio continued.

You can listen to the clip below.

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The audio clip remains unverified

Despite going viral on social media, the clip remains unverified. Musk’s AI bot Grok, which is used to verify X posts, said it was “likely not real” when questioned about the authenticity.

"Likely not real. Leaked JD Vance audio on Elon Musk lacks credible evidence. The original post uses satirical terms like 'toddler pants' and 'MuskRAT,' suggesting humour, not fact. No reliable sources confirm it. Seems fabricated," Grok noted.

Musk is currently an adviser to Trump and heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He has already begun slashing federal spending across several departments by, drastically reducing the federal workforce. He has earned a lot of criticism for his decisions thus far.

Vance’s previous comments about Musk

While the voice in the clip is yet to be verified as Vance, the US Vice President has previously weighed in on Musk’s decisions. During an interview with NBC News, Vance stated that made “mistakes” when mass firing federal employees, Vance emphasised that there were a lot of good people who worked for the government.

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“I’m also very aware of the fact that there are a lot of good people who work in the government, a lot of people who are doing a very good job. And we want to try to preserve as much of what works in government as possible while eliminating what doesn’t work,” he said.

Vance’s tone was a lot softer approach to Musk’s approach of firing thousands of federal workers in a bid to trim down on spending. Musk argued that many government employees didn’t work but claimed a paycheck.

SA slams Musk for criticising Malema

Briefly News reported that tech giant Musk was criticised by South Africans for targeting Julius Malema.

Musk took a swipe at the Economic Freedom Fighters leader after he sang the Kill the Boer song on 21 March 2025.

South Africans turned on the X owner and accused him of spreading disinformation.

Source: Briefly News